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` F.' GLAASSON.

ANIMAL TRAP. u VN0. 290,034. l Patented,Dec`.. 11,188'3;

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NITED STATES PATENT Ormea.

FREDERICK-GLASSON, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

ANIMAL-TRAP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 290,034, dated December11, 1883.

Application led April 9, 1883. (Model.)

To all whom, t may con/cern:V

Be it known that I, FREDERICK GLAssoN, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of New York, in the county and State of New York, haveinvented a 'new and useful Improvement in Animal-Traps, of which thefollowing is a specification. y

The object of my invention is to provide a novel curiosity in animaltraps, especially mouse-traps, whereby an impetus or sudden jerkingmovement' is imparted to a lever to spring or unset a set catchingdevice attached to said lever and clasping the mouse in the jaws of thesaid catch.

The invention consists in the construction and combination of thevarious parts, as will be hereinafter described and claimed.

VIn the accompanying drawings, Figure I represents aside elevationof atrap constructed according to my present invention. Fig. 2 is alongitudinal vertical section' of the same, taken along the centraldivision line between the two halves of castings of which the body iscomposed. Fig. 3 is a detail horizontal section on the line w. x of Fig.2, looking down. Fig. 4 is a detail front view, partly sectional, of thebait-box and mode of hanging the same. Fig. 5 is a detail front view ofthe spring-jaws attached to the end of the lever, between which it isintended to catch the mouse.

The body A of the trap is made of two h'ollowcastings, one of which hasasocketed hub or post, a, cast upon its inner surface, and by means ofwhich and a screw, c', entered from the outside of the other .half andscrewed into a'thread in the said socket, serves to hold the two halvestogether and to conceal and inclose the inner working parts.

B is a lever vpivoted at b between cheeks of the body A, its shorterend, B, projecting up` ward and closing the opening between the saidcheeks, and the longer end, B2, projecting forward and being provided atits eXtreme front end with two curved -jaws,.-C, which are pivoted tothe lever. Between two pins, c', secured one to each of the said jaws C,I attach a spiral spring, D, in such a manner that when the jaws arespread appart, as in Fig. 5, until the pivot and the pins c are in linewith each other, or the line connecting the pins c is very slightlyabove the center of the pivot .0, the said spring will be set withlsufficient force to snap the two jaws G together and embrace the preyinstantly upon the least4 downward movement or vibration of the pins o,caused by the inertia of the j aws C during a sudden oscillatorymovement of the forward end of the lever. -'Io prevent the spring D fromgetting up'any higher above the center of the pivot c than beforestated, and indicated 6o 4in Fig. 5, a pin, d, is secured to the end ofthe lever in position to stop any further upward turning of the jaws Caround their pivot by contact with the upper or back edge of the saidjaws. ver B is pivoted, at b', one end of a wire pitman orconnecting-rod, E, whose other end is bent up to form a slot, e, inwhich is embraced the crank-pin of the crank f, formed upon acrank-shaft, F, which latter is pivoted 7o at S through the body A, oneend of the said crank-shaft F being bent outside of the body A, so as toleave a forward projecting rod, f', which reaches to the point I atwhich the bailboX is pivoted, and ends with a small downward bend, f2.The crank-shaft F, crank-pin f, and therod f are all made by bending onepiece of wire.

G is a spiral spring arranged to surround the crankshaft F at one sideof the crank. The 8o said spring is fastened with one end, g, .to thecrank f, and with its other end, g,to the hub a in such a manner that byturning the crank by the arm f in the direction of the arrow 1 the saidspiral spring will be coiled closer,and 8 5 thereby set ready to rapidlyspring back or\ uncol into its normal position when left free to do so.Through holes in the projections I or other stationary portions of thebody A is pivoted a wire, II, which has one end project- 9o ing outsideof its pivot farther than the other, and provided with an upward bend,It, in position to adapt it to be moved with its upper end directlyunderneath and in contact with the lower end of the -forward bend, f2,of the arm f', as shown in Figs. l and 2. The portion of the wire Hbetween the projections I is bent downward in a U shape, and to it issecured a small box, J, open only on top and in front, so that accesstoit can be gained only roo from the front, and in the said box lisfastened a pointed pin, j, .for holding the bait.

The operation is easily understoodwith reference to the drawings. VThetrap is set in To the upper short end of the le- 65 the position drawnin full lines in Figs. l and 2 by simply turning the arm f from thedotted position around the pivot s in the direction of the arrow 1 untilthe end f2 is made to rest upon the end 7i ofthe wire H, and placingthejaws C in such position, as shown in full lines in Fig. 5, thussetting the spring G, as before stated. Soon as the mouse, approachingfrom the front to get at the bait, disturbs the box J slightly, so as tocause the pin 7L to turn from contact with the end f2 ofthe rod f', thelatter and the crank f, impelled by the elasticity of spring G, swingback into the dotted position. In' doing so the crank-pin, in strikingthe forward end of the slot c of the pitinan E, first causes the frontend of the lever to dip downward slightly with a sudden jerk, and thensuddenly to rise again into the dotted position,when the crank f,i11 itsmove ment in the direction ofthe arrow 2,has passed the dead-center withrelation to the pivot b. The sudden reciprocating movement thus causedof the forward end of the lever disturbs the equilibrium of the jaws Cand the spring D, causing the said spring to close the jaws around thebody of the mouse, and then lift the latter up from the ground as highas indicated by the dotted position, in a manner somewhat similar tothat of an elephant grasping and raising something with its trunk.

The device may be made to work without the slot c; but the latter ismuch preferable, as by a sudden forward and then return movement in thesaid slot of the crank-pin, during its revolution, is more surelyobtained the sud den jerk of the forward end of the lever, by which andthe inertia of thejaws C the latter are caused to close by the action ofthe spring D. If the spring G is a weak one, a whole or more turns ofthecrank f may be necessary to set it with sufficient force to operatewell. The leverB will then make several vibratory movements while thespring is unsetting; but if the spring is sufficiently strong it may beset (and the setting regulated to always give the same force) by givingthe crank only a partial revolution, and limiting the same by a stop, k,secured to the body A at the desired point in the path of the cranksrevolution, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent- 1. An animal-trap formed ofthe combination of a body,A, a lever, B, pivoted to the said body, and provided at one end withcatching devices,and mechanism for suddenly lowering and raising thesaid lever, and thereby unsetting or springing the said catchingdevices, substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.

2. The combination, with the body A, of the pivoted lever B, the slottedpitman E, crank-shaft F, rod f', spring G, and pivoted bait-receptacleII J, the said lever B being provided with catching devices C,substantially as hereinbefore set forth.

3. In combination with the pivoted lever B, and suitable mechanismsupported by the body A to oscillate the said lever, the j aws C,pivoted to the said lever, and provided with the pins c, and the springD and the stop-pin d, substantially as hereinbefore set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed myname,in presence of two witnesses, this 31st day oi' March, 1883.

FREDERICK GLASSON. lVitnesses:

A. WV. ALMQvIsT, RoBT. W. MATTHEWS.

